World Champions

Hell must've frozen over because the Chicago White Sox are the World Champions. The last time they won the World Series:

-I hadn't been born yet
-My parents hadn't been born yet
-My grandparents hadn't been born yet
-My great-grandparents hadn't yet emigrated to this coutnry from Ireland

In other words, it was a long ass time ago.....

Congratulations ChiSox!

Tired of food

Last night, after work, I went to the grocery store. I had made really bad food choices all day and was feeling fat, full and just generally in a funk. The mere thought of buying food seemed disgusting but necessary so there I was, aimlessly wandering the aisles. I had a list with me but I had vague things written on it like "stuff for lunches."

Without really thinking about what I was doing, I started piling items in the cart: Granny Smith apples, cherry tomatoes, orange bell peppers, tuna, salmon, Melba toast. I bypassed the cookies and chips, even the reduced fat variety. When I looked down at my cart it struck me that what I had been throwing stuff in my cart screamed "light" food to me: no bananas, no potatoes, no beef, no Triscuits, nothing "heavy." I had this need to lighten my diet, my spirit and my body. It was a weird revelation to have in the middle of Cub Foods and I don' t know how to explain it other than I'm tired of feeling heavy and weighed down by fat and the neverending, constant fucking stress of being fat, being on a diet, being insecure about how I look, constantly obsessing about what I just ate and what I'm going to eat next and all that crap that goes with being fat and on a diet. Ugh.

The Saint and I had a long talk about it when I got home and I didn't do a really good job of articulating what I've been feeling but I think he got the gist of it and long story short, I'm big time back on my program. And as The Saint, who knows me so well said, "Starting right now. No putting it off until Monday, or until after your period is over or until after the holidays or whatever other excuse you can come up with. Now."

And then I read this blog today and the author seemed to capture exactly how I've been feeling and she wrote two things in particular that really struck a chord with me:

"I was tired of food." This was exactly how I felt yesterday.

"Your body is your responsibility." Too bad my body got such a crappy owner.
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The niece (RM) and the nephew (AW) are spending the weekend with us. I can't wait! Tomorrow we're taking them to the Pumpkin Festival at Blackberry Farm. We're going to freeze our asses off but it'll be fun. The train will be running and it takes visitors over to the pumpkin patch where you can pick out a pumpkin for "a small fee." And not only will the munchkins be in residence but Little Guy, the in-law's cat, is at our place too. Talk about a mad house.
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Usually we don't strictly enforce bedtime when the kids stay with us but we will be this Saturday night. It's Game One of the World Series. Houston vs. Chicago. In Chicago. I don't think I'll really believe it's happening until the first pitch because I never thought this would happen in my lifetime. But it is! And I'm totally nauseated, thrilled, anxious and excited.


Let's go, Go-Go White Sox
We're with you all the way
You're always in there fighting and you do your best
We're glad to have you out here in the middle west
We're gonna root root root root White Sox
And cheer you on to victory
When we're in the stands we'll make those rafters ring
All through the season you will hear us sing
Let's go, Go-Go White Sox
Chicago is proud of you
White Sox White Sox Go, go White Sox
Root root root for the White Sox
We'll cheer you on to victory
When we're in the stands we'll make those rafters ring
All through the season you will hear us sing
Let's go, Go-Go White Sox
Chicago is proud of you
White Sox White Sox Go, go White Sox
Let's go, Go-Go White Sox
Chicago is proud of you

"Let's Go, Go-Go White Sox" was written by Chicago natives Walter "Lil Wally" Jagiello and the late Al Trace in 1959 as a tribute to their favorite team.

Happy Anniversary

Eight years ago today, on a gorgeous October afternoon, The Saint and I were married in this beautiful chapel. It was the best thing I've ever done.

J, I love you the stars, the sky and the moon. Big garages and little garages.

Christmas List

I have started putting together my Christmas list. Oh yes, I write a Christmas list every year. Still. I'm 38. I write one for my mother, one for my mother-in-law and one for The Saint. I adore presents!

Here are some things currently on my list:

I'm dying to read this book!

I gotta have a pair of these!

Do you think I can put this on the filing cabinet in my office?

I need this for my tree!
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The 8th Wedding Anniversary Weekend Extravaganza begins today. The Saint and I are headed out for Thai food tonight. Trying new restaurants during our anniversary weekend has become a ritual for us. We usually try two or three. We're going out early so we can get home to watch the White Sox-Angels game. After Wednesday night's game, who knows what the hell will happen tonight!
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Ronan is being such a bitch about his medicine! Like an idiot, I gave him the Clavamox after I dressed for work this morning and didn't notice until I got to work that I have spit up antibiotic on the shoulder of my shirt. Nice.

Have a great weekend!

Eating Machine

I have become a veritable eating machine people and it's not pretty! It's stress and not getting enough exercise and my inability to just say no!

The Bad
See that cute little black kitty in my profile picture? That's my baby, Ronan. He is just the sweetest thing but, he's been sick this week and I am out of my mind with worry. Long story short he has an eye infection, a fever, doesn't want to eat, has thrown up from one end of my house to the other and is an absolute bitch to try and give liquid antibiotics to. Oh and the eye salve. He really loves that! We've been to the vet twice this week which is his other favorite thing.

My father. Just the neverending responsibility of him. It is so wearing. I'm getting a few weeks off from him. I don't have to go back up there until the 29th, thanks to the Big B.

Work. I love it but it's also wearing on me the being in a different place each day.

Sleep. I need it. I want it. I gotta have it. Unfortunately I only get it in small quantities. Perfect example. They're doing some construction right up the street from my house on this 2 lane, no street lights, country road. It's still 2 lanes but one lane is a little narrower because they were some construction horse set up on the shoulder and partially in the lane. Some asshole tearing along this morning at about 3 am didn't see the jillion orange signs and smashed through all the cosntruction horses. This morning all that was left were splinters of wood. Literally. We had our bedroom window open and it sounded like the truck crashed in our backyard. It scared the crap out of all us. I thought I would be able to fall back to sleep but then all the emergency vehicles showed up and it was lit up like a Hollywood set out there.

The Good
I have a long weekend coming up. Even though our anniversay is the 18th, The Saint and I are taking Monday the 17th off. We're going to try some new restaurants this weekend and go the Bears game with my family on Sunday. On Monday I'm not doing a DAMN thing.

The weekend of the 22nd our nephew AW and niece RM are spending the weekend with us. Love em! They're hysterical. AW is in kindergarten and he informed me last week he has a girlfriend and "She wants to get married but I just want her to be my girlfriend." He's 5. How can he be commitment-phobic already?

The Ugly
My eating. I had a perfectly nice Lean Cuisine, cup of unsweetened applesauce and Diet 7UP for lunch. And then I felt the need to top that off with a bag of Flamin Hot Cheetos from the vending machine.

On a totally different topic: the White Sox. They did the unthinkable and swept the defending champions the Red Sox. Last night they lost game one of the ALCS to the Angels. I was speechless but not completely surprised. After all I've had my heart broken many times by various Chicago sports teams.

Sox Rock

OMG, my White Sox are the AL Central champions and open the division series against the Red Sox today at The Cell. I'm so nauseous. I am by no means a cool and calm sports fan. Quite the opposite. I get way too into it, live and die with every pitch, every hit, every out, hence the nausea. The biting of the nails. The gnashing of the teeth. The swearing. I'm a spaz but I am helpless to be anything but. My father introduced me to the world of Chicago sports as a wee child. He has always been a passionate fan and since I learned at his knee, I know no other way. This was a man who as a high school football player played BOTH offense and defense. His team went undefeated all four years and I think he played every down. He gets as excited about a Tiger Woods' tee shot as he does a Brian Urlacher sack, a Greg Maddux pitch or a Paul Konerko homerun. And if nothing else, I am my father's daughter.
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I'm at our downtown campus 3 out of 5 days this week which means I'm getting a brisk one mile walk in every morning from Union Station to school. That would be great if it weren't so hot and humid here this week. C'mon already! Is it October 4th or July 4th? We turned our air conditioning on Sunday night and it's still on. That being said, the temperature is supposed to plunge from a high of 81 on Wednesday to a mere high of 56 on Thursday. Typical.
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The Lean Cuisine thing is going pretty well except for days like today when I walked out the door without my lunch. I've only had one meal that I didn't like, everything else was pretty decent. I know everyone complains about the amount of sodium in frozen dinners but for me, for now, it's an acceptable trade off.